govcy Express Services

⚠️ Warning:
This package is under active development and is not a finished product. It is intended for testing, acceptance, integration, and browser testing purposes only.

No guarantees are provided regarding stability, security, or compliance. Using this package does not imply your product or service will automatically pass any required assessments, audits, or certifications by the Cyprus government or any other authority.

You are responsible for ensuring your own compliance, security, and quality assurance processes.

📝 Description

This project is an Express-based project that dynamically renders online service forms using @gov-cy/govcy-frontend-renderer. It is designed for developers building government services in Cyprus, enabling them to manage user authentication, form submissions, and OpenID authentication workflows in a timely manner.

Table of contents

• 📝 Description
• ✨ Features
• 📋 Prerequisites
• 🚀 Quick start
• 📦 Full installation guide
• 🛠️ Usage
  • 🧩 Dynamic services rendering
  • 🛡️ Site eligibility checks
  • 📤 Site submissions
  • ✅ Input validations
• 🛣️ Routes
• 🔒 Security note
• ❓ Troubleshooting / FAQ
• 🙏 Credits
• 💡 Developer notes
• 📄 License
• 📬 Contact

✨ Features

• Dynamic form rendering from JSON templates
  • Support for textInput, textArea, select, radios, checkboxes, datePicker, dateInput
  • Support for conditional radios
• Dynamic creation of check your answers page
• OpenID Connect authentication with CY Login
• Middleware-based architecture for better maintainability
• Supports routing for dynamic pages
• Input validation
• CSRF protection
• cyLogin Single Sign-On (SSO) for physical authorized users
• Pre-filling posted values (in the same session)
• Site level API eligibility checks
• API integration with retry logic for form submissions.

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• npm
• A CY Login client ID and secret
• An API endpoint for form submissions (through cyConnect)

🚀 Quick start

# 1. Install the package
npm install @gov-cy/govcy-express-services

# 2. Generate SSL certificates for local development
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout server.key -out server.cert -days 365 -nodes

# 3. Create a .env file in your project root (see below for required variables)

# 4. Add a minimal data config file in /data (see test.json example)

# 5. Create an index.mjs file:

// index.mjs
import initializeGovCyExpressService from '@gov-cy/govcy-express-services';

const service = initializeGovCyExpressService();
service.startServer();

# 6. Start the server
npm start

• Visit https://localhost:44319 in your browser.
• Log in with CY Login and start using your dynamic service!

Tip:
For more details on configuration, environment variables, and advanced features, see the sections below.

📦 Full installation guide

The project acts as an npm package and you need to install it as a dependency in your npm project. Check out the install notes a detailed installation guide.

🛠️ Usage

Starting the Server

Add in your package.json:

"scripts": {
    "start": "node index.mjs"
}

Then run the server using npm start.

npm start

The server will start on https://localhost:44319 (see NOTES.md for more details on this).

Authentication Middleware

Authentication is handled via OpenID Connect using CY Login and is configured using environment variables. The middleware ensures users have valid sessions before accessing protected routes.

The CY Login tokens are used to also connect with the various APIs through cyConnect, so make sure to include the correct scope when requesting for a cyLogin client registration.

🧩 Dynamic Services Rendering

Services are rendered dynamically using JSON templates stored in the /data folder. All the service configuration, pages, routes, and logic is stored in the JSON files. The service will load data/:siteId.json to get the form data when a user visits /:siteId/:pageUrl. Checkout the express-service-shema.json and the example JSON structure of the test.json file for more details.

Here are some details explaining the JSON structure:

• site object: Contains information about the site, including the site ID, language, and footer links. See govcy-frontend-renderer for more details. Some fields that are only specific to the govcy-express-forms project are the following:
  • submission_data_version : The submission data version,
  • renderer_version : The govcy-frontend-renderer version,
  • design_systems_version : The govcy-design-system version,
  • homeRedirectPage: The page to redirect when user visits the route page. Usually this will redirect to gov.cy page. If not provided will show a list of available sites.
  • matomo : The Matomo web analytics configuration details.
  • eligibilityAPIEndpoints : An array of API endpoints, to be used for service eligibility. See more on the Eligibility API Endoints section below.
  • submissionAPIEndpoint: The submission API endpoint, to be used for submitting the form. See more on the Submission API Endoint section below.
• pages array: An array of page objects, each representing a page in the site.
  • pageData object: Contains the metadata to be rendered on the page. See govcy-frontend-renderer for more details
  • pageTemplate object: Contains the page template to be rendered on the page. See govcy-frontend-renderer for more details
    • elements array: An array of elements to be rendered on the page. See all supported govcy-frontend-renderer elements for more details

A typical service flow that includes pages index, question-1, question-2 under the pages array in the JSON file looks like this:

flowchart TD
    govcy-page --> isAuth{Is User Authenticated?}
    isAuth -- Yes<br><br> Eligibility Check --> index([:siteId/index])
    isAuth -- No --> cyLogin[cyLogin]
    cyLogin -- Eligibility Check --> index
    index --  Eligibility Check<br> Validations --> question-1[:siteId/question-1]
    question-1 --  Eligibility Check<br> Validations --> question-2[:siteId/question-2]
    question-2 --  Eligibility Check<br> Validations --> review[📄:siteId/review <br> <br> Automatically generated]
    review --  Eligibility Check<br> All Validations --> success([✅:siteId/success <br> <br> Automatically generated])

Some pages are generated automatically by the project, such as the review and success pages.

Pages

Pages defined in the JSON file under the pages array, they rendered based on the govcy-frontend-renderer library, and they are served by the /:siteId/:pageUrl route. The pageData.nextPage field is used to determine the next page to render.

Here's an example of a page defined in the JSON file:

{
  "pageData": {
    "url": "index",
    "title": {
      "el": "Your email",
      "en": "Το email σας"
    },
    "layout": "layouts/govcyBase.njk",
    "mainLayout": "two-third",
    "nextPage": "telephone-number"
  },
  "pageTemplate": {
    "sections": [
      {
        "name": "beforeMain",
        "elements": [
          {
            "element": "backLink",
            "params": {}
          }
        ],
        "params": {}
      },
      {
        "name": "main",
        "elements": [
          {
            "element": "form",   
            "params": {
              "elements": [
                {
                  "element": "textInput",
                  "params": {
                      "label": {
                          "en": "What is your email?",
                          "el": "Ποιο είναι το email σας?"
                      },
                      "id": "email",
                      "name": "email",
                      "hint": {
                          "en": "We’ll only use this email for this application",
                          "el": "Θα χρησιμοποιήσουμε το email σας μόνο για αυτήν την υπηρεσία"
                      },
                      "type": "email",
                      "isPageHeading": true,
                      "fixedWidth": "50"
                  },
                  "validations": [
                    {
                        "check": "required",
                        "params": {
                        "message": {
                            "en": "Enter your email",
                            "el": "Εισαγάγετε το email σας"
                        }
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "check": "valid",
                        "params": {
                        "checkValue": "email",
                        "message": {
                            "en": "Your email must be a valid email address",
                            "el": "To emial πρέπει να είναι έχει μορφή email address"
                        }
                        }
                    }
                ]
                },
                {
                  "element": "button",
                  "params": {
                    "id": "continue",
                    "variant": "primary",
                    "text": {
                      "el": "Συνέχεια",
                      "en": "Continue"
                    }
                  }
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

The above page JSON generates a page that looks like the following screenshot:

The JSON structure is based on the govcy-frontend-renderer's JSON template.

Lets break down the JSON config for this page:

• pageData are the page's meta data, such as the URL, title, layout, mainLayout, and nextPage.
  • pageData.url is the URL of the page, in this case it's :siteId/index
  • pageData.title is the title of the page, in this case it's Your email. This will be used in the review, success pages, the PDF, the email, and the submission platform.
  • pageData.layout is the layout used to render the page. The project only supports the default layout layouts/govcyBase.njk
  • pageData.mainLayout is the layout of the main section of the page, in this case it's two-third. It can be either two-third or max-width,
  • pageData.nextPage is the next page to redirect to when the user clicks the continue button and all validations pass, in this case it will redirect to /:siteId/telephone-number
• pageTemplate is the page's template, which is a JSON object that contains the sections and elements of the page. Check out the govcy-frontend-renderer's documentation for more details.

Forms vs static content

• If the pageTemplate includes a form element in the main section and button element, the system will treat it as form and will:
  • Perform the eligibility checks
  • Display the form
  • Collect the form data
  • Validate the form data
  • Store the form data in the systems data layer
  • Redirect the user to the next page (or review page if the user came from the review page)
• Else if the pageTemplate does not include a form element in the main section, the system will treat it as static content and will:
  • Not perform the eligibility checks
  • Display the static content

Notes:

• Check out the govcy-frontend-renderer's design elements for more details on the supported elements and their parameters.
• Check out the input validations section for more details on how to add validations to the JSON file.

Review page

The review page is automatically generated by the project and includes the following sections:

• Summary: A summary of the data from all the pages in the service.
• Change links: A list of links to each page in the service.
• Submit button: A button to submit the form.

Here's an example screenshot of review page

When the user clicks a change link, the user is redirected to the corresponding page in the service. After the user clicks on continue button the user is redirected back to the review page.

When the user clicks the Submit button, all the data gathered from the site's forms within this session are validated based on the validation definition in the JSON file, and if they pass they are submitted to the configured API endpoint.

Success page

The success page is automatically generated by the project, is accessible only when a submission is made successfully, and includes the following sections:

• Success banner: A banner indicating that the form was successfully submitted, with the reference number of the submission.
• PDF Download link: A link to download the PDF of the submission's data in a human-readable format.
• Summary: A summary of the data from all the pages in the service.

Here's an example screenshot of success page

🛡️ Site eligibility checks

The project uses an array of API endpoints to check the eligibility of a service/site. To use this feature, you need to configure the following in your JSON file under the site object:

"eligibilityAPIEndpoints" : [
  {
    "url": "TEST_ELIGIBILITY_1_API_URL",
    "method": "POST", 
    "clientKey": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_CLIENT_KEY",
    "serviceId": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_SERVIVE_ID",
    "cashingTimeoutMinutes": 2,
    "params": {
      "checkFor": "isCitizen,isAdult"
    },
    "response": {
      "errorResponse": {
        "102": {
          "error": "user not administrator",
          "page": "/test/user-not-admin"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "url": "TEST_ELIGIBILITY_2_API_URL",
    "clientKey": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_CLIENT_KEY",
    "serviceId": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_SERVIVE_ID",
    "cashingTimeoutMinutes": 60,
    "response": {
      "errorResponse": {
        "105": {
          "error": "user not registration",
          "page": "/test/user-not-registered"
        }
      }
    }
  }
]

If no eligibilityAPIEndpoints are configured, the system will not check for service eligibility for the specific site.

Lets break the JSON config down:

• eligibilityAPIEndpoints : An array of API endpoints, to be used for service eligibility.
  • url: The enviromental variable that holds the URL of the API endpoint.
  • method: The HTTP method to use when making the request.
  • clientId: The enviromental variable that holds the client ID to use when making the request.
  • clientSecret: The enviromental variable that holds the client secret to use when making the request.
  • cashingTimeoutMinutes: The number of minutes to cache the response from the API endpoint. If set to 0, the API endpoint will be called every time.
  • params: An object of key-value pairs that will be added to the request body when making the request.
  • response: An object of expected response when succeeded===false, to be used for the system to know which error page to show.

The above config references the following environment variables that need to be set:

TEST_ELIGIBILITY_1_API_URL=http://localhost:3002/check1
TEST_ELIGIBILITY_2_API_URL=http://localhost:3002/check2
TEST_SUBMISSION_API_CLIENT_KEY=12345678901234567890123456789000
TEST_SUBMISSION_API_SERVIVE_ID=123

With the above config, when a user visits a page under the specific site, /:siteId/*, the service sends a request to the configured eligibility API endpoints. If any of the API endpoints returns succeeded: false, the user is redirected to the error page specified in the response object.

The response is cached to the session storage for the specified number of minutes. If the cashingTimeoutMinutes is set to 0, the API endpoint will be called every time.

Eligibility API request and response

For each eligibility API endpoint, the project sends a request to the API endpoint. The project uses the CY Connect - OAuth 2.0 (CY Login) authentication policy, so the user's <access_token> is sent in the Authorization header.

Eligibility Request

• HTTP Method:
  • Defined per endpoint in the method property (defaults to GET if not specified).
• URL:
  • Resolved from the url property in your config (from the environment variable).
• Headers:
  • Authorization: Bearer <access_token> (form user's cyLogin access token)
  • client-key: <clientKey> (from config/env)
  • service-id: <serviceId> (from config/env)
  • Accept: text/plain Parameters: The params object in your config is sent as query parameters for GET requests and as the request body for POST requests.

Example GET Request:

GET /check-eligibility?checkFor=isCitizen,isAdult HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost:3002
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
client-key: 12345678901234567890123456789000
service-id: 123
Accept: text/plain

Example POST Request:

POST /check-eligibility HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost:3002
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
client-key: 12345678901234567890123456789000
service-id: 123
Accept: text/plain
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "checkFor": "isCitizen,isAdult"
}

Eligibility Response

The API is expected to return a JSON response with the following structure (see govcyApiRequest.mjs for normalization):

On Success:

{
  "Succeeded": true,
  "ErrorCode": 0,
  "ErrorMessage": null,
}

On Failure:

{
  "Succeeded": false,
  "ErrorCode": 102,
  "ErrorMessage": "user not administrator"
}

Notes:

• If no eligibilityAPIEndpoints are configured, the system will not check for service eligibility for the specific site.
• The response is normalized to always use PascalCase keys (Succeeded, ErrorCode, etc.), regardless of the backend’s casing.
• If Succeeded is false, the system will look up the ErrorCode in your config to determine which error page to show.

Caching

• The response from each eligibility endpoint is cached in the session for the number of minutes specified by cashingTimeoutMinutes.
• If cashingTimeoutMinutes is set to 0, the API endpoint will be called every time (no caching).
• If omitted or null, the result is cached indefinitely.

Error Handling

• If the API returns Succeeded: false, the user is redirected to the error page specified in your config for that error code.
• If the API response is invalid or the request fails after retries, a generic error is shown.

References

• Eligibility check logic: See govcyServiceEligibilityHandler.mjs
• API call, normalization and retries: See govcyApiRequest.mjs

📤 Site Submissions

The project uses an API endpoint to submit the form data. The project uses the CY Connect - OAuth 2.0 (CY Login) authentication policy, so the user's <access_token> is sent in the Authorization header.

To use this feature, you need to configure the following in your JSON file under the site object:

"submissionAPIEndpoint": {
  "url": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_URL",
  "clientKey": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_CLIENT_KEY",
  "serviceId": "TEST_SUBMISSION_API_SERVIVE_ID",
  "response": {
    "errorResponse": {
      "102": {
        "error": "user not administrator",
        "page": "/test/user-not-admin"
      },
      "105": {
        "error": "user not registration",
        "page": "/test/user-not-registered"
      }
    }
  }
}

Lets break the JSON config down:

• submissionAPIEndpoint: The submission API endpoint, to be used for submitting the form.
  • url: The enviromental variable that holds the URL of the API endpoint.
  • clientId: The enviromental variable that holds the client ID to use when making the request.
  • clientSecret: The enviromental variable that holds the client secret to use when making the request.
  • response: An object of expected response when Succeeded===false, to be used for the system to know which error page to show.

The above config references the following environment variables that need to be set:

TEST_SUBMISSION_API_URL=http://localhost:3002/success
TEST_SUBMISSION_API_CLIENT_KEY=12345678901234567890123456789000
TEST_SUBMISSION_API_SERVIVE_ID=123

With the above config, when a user submits the review page, the service sends a request to the configured submission API endpoint.

Submission API Request and Response

Submission Request:

• HTTP Method: POST
• URL: Resolved from the url property in your config (from the environment variable).
• Headers:
  • Authorization: Bearer <access_token> (form user's cyLogin access token)
  • client-key: <clientKey> (from config/env)
  • service-id: <serviceId> (from config/env)
  • Accept: text/plain
• Body: The body contains the prepared submission data, which is a JSON object with all the form data collected from the user across all pages.

Example Request:

POST /submission-endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost:3002
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
client-key: 12345678901234567890123456789000
service-id: 123
Accept: text/plain
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "submission_username": "username",
  "submission_email": "email@example.com",
  "submission_data": "{\"index\":{\"formData\":{\"certificate_select\":[\"birth\",\"permanent_residence\"]}}}",
  "submission_data_version": "1",
  "print_friendly_data": "[{\"pageUrl\":\"index\",\"pageTitle\":{\"el\":\"Επιλογή Εγγάφου\",\"en\":\"Document selection\",\"tr\":\"\"},\"fields\":[{\"id\":\"certificate_select\",\"name\":\"certificate_select\",\"label\":{\"el\":\"Τι έγγραφα επιθυμείτε να εκδώσετε;\",\"en\":\"What documents do you wish to issue?\"},\"value\":[\"birth\",\"permanent_residence\"],\"valueLabel\":[{\"el\":\"Πιστοποιητικό γέννησης​\",\"en\":\"Birth certificate\",\"tr\":\"\"},{\"el\":\"Βεβαίωση μόνιμης διαμονής​\",\"en\":\"Certificate of permanent residence\",\"tr\":\"\"}]}]}]",
  "renderer_data": "{\"element\":\"summaryList\",\"params\":{\"items\":[{\"key\":{\"el\":\"Επιλογή Εγγάφου\",\"en\":\"Document selection\",\"tr\":\"\"},\"value\":[{\"element\":\"summaryList\",\"params\":{\"items\":[{\"key\":{\"el\":\"Τι έγγραφα επιθυμείτε να εκδώσετε;\",\"en\":\"What documents do you wish to issue?\"},\"value\":[{\"element\":\"textElement\",\"params\":{\"text\":{\"en\":\"Birth certificate, Certificate of permanent residence\",\"el\":\"Birth certificate, Certificate of permanent residence\",\"tr\":\"Birth certificate, Certificate of permanent residence\"},\"type\":\"span\"}}]}]}}]}]}}",
  "renderer_version": "1.14.3",
  "design_systems_version": "3.2.0",
  "service": "{\"id\":\"test\",\"title\":{\"el\":\"Υπηρεσία τεστ\",\"en\":\"Test service\",\"tr\":\"\"}}"
}

Submission Response

The API is expected to return a JSON response with the following structure (see govcyApiRequest.mjs for normalization):

On Success:

{
  "Succeeded": true,
  "ErrorCode": 0,
  "ErrorMessage": null,
  "Data": {
    "referenceValue": "12345678"
  }
}

On Failure:

{
  "Succeeded": false,
  "ErrorCode": 102,
  "ErrorMessage": "user not administrator"
}

Notes:

• The response is normalized to always use PascalCase keys (Succeeded, ErrorCode, etc.), regardless of the backend’s casing.
• If Succeeded is false, the system will look up the ErrorCode in your config to determine which error page to show.

Error Handling

• If the API returns Succeeded: false, the user is redirected to the error page specified in your config for that error code.
• If the API response is invalid or the request fails after retries, a generic error is shown.

References

• Request/response logic: See govcyReviewPostHandler.mjs
• API call, normalization and retries: See govcyApiRequest.mjs

Submission Data

The data is collected from the form elements and the data layer and are sent via the submission API in the following format:

"submissionData": {             // Site level successful submission data
  "submission_username" : "",   // User's username
  "submission_email" : "",      // User's email
  "submission_data": "{}",      // Raw data as submitted by the user in each page
  "submission_data_version": "",// The submission data version
  "print_friendly_data": "[]",  // Print friendly data
  "renderer_data" :"{}",        // Renderer data of the summary list
  "renderer_version": "",       // The renderer version
  "design_systems_version": "", // The design systems version
  "service": "{}"               // Service info
}

Submission Data Sample

{
  "submission_username": "username",        // User's username
  "submission_email": "email@example.com",  // User's email
  "submission_data_version": "0.1",         // Submission data version
  "submission_data": {                      // Submission raw data. Object, will be stringified
    "index": {                              // Page level
      "formData": {
        "id_select": ["id", "arc"],         // field level. Could be string or array
        "id_number": "654654",
        "arc_number": "",
        "aka": "232323",
        "_csrf": "o6s80zgvowsmzm3q1djl03etarbd1pnd"
      }
    },
    "appointment": {
      "formData": {
        "diorismos": "monimos",
        "fileno_monimos": "3233",
        "eidikotita_monimos": "1",
        "fileno_sumvasiouxos": "",
        "eidikotita_sumvasiouxos": "",
        "fileno_aoristou": "",
        "eidikotita_aoristou": "",
        "program": "",
        "fileno_orismenou": "",
        "_csrf": "o6s80zgvowsmzm3q1djl03etarbd1pnd"
      }
    },
    "takeover": {
      "formData": {
        "date_start_day": "11",
        "date_start_month": "12",
        "date_start_year": "2020",
        "date_on_contract": "date_other",
        "date_contract": "16/04/2025",
        "reason": "24324dssf",
        "_csrf": "o6s80zgvowsmzm3q1djl03etarbd1pnd"
      }
    }
  },
  "submission_data_version": "1",           // Submission data version
  "renderer_data": {                        // Summary list renderer data ready for rendering . Object, will be stringified
    "element": "summaryList",
    "params": {
      "items": [
        {
          "key": {
            "el": "Στοιχεία του  εκπαιδευτικού",
            "en": "Educator's details",
            "tr": ""
          },
          "value": [
            {
              "element": "summaryList",
              "params": {
                "items": [
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Ταυτοποίηση",
                      "en": "Identification"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "Ταυτότητα, ARC",
                            "el": "Ταυτότητα, ARC",
                            "tr": "Ταυτότητα, ARC"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  },
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Εισαγάγετε αριθμό ταυτότητας",
                      "en": "Enter ID number"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "121212",
                            "el": "121212",
                            "tr": "121212"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  },
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Αριθμός κοινωνικών ασφαλίσεων",
                      "en": "Social Insurance Number"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "112121",
                            "el": "112121",
                            "tr": "112121"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "key": {
            "el": "Διορισμός εκπαιδευτικού",
            "en": "Teachers appointment",
            "tr": ""
          },
          "value": [
            {
              "element": "summaryList",
              "params": {
                "items": [
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Τι διορισμό έχει ο εκπαιδευτικός;",
                      "en": "What type of appointment does the teacher have?"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "Συμβασιούχος",
                            "el": "Συμβασιούχος",
                            "tr": "Συμβασιούχος"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  },
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Αριθμός φακέλου (ΠΜΠ)",
                      "en": "File Number"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "1212",
                            "el": "1212",
                            "tr": "1212"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  },
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Ειδικότητα",
                      "en": "Specialty"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "Καθηγητής",
                            "el": "Καθηγητής",
                            "tr": "Καθηγητής"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "key": {
            "el": "Ημερομηνία ανάληψης",
            "en": "Takeover date",
            "tr": ""
          },
          "value": [
            {
              "element": "summaryList",
              "params": {
                "items": [
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Ημερομηνία ανάληψης",
                      "en": "Start Date"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "16/04/2025",
                            "el": "16/04/2025",
                            "tr": "16/04/2025"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  },
                  {
                    "key": {
                      "el": "Η ημερομηνία αυτή είναι η ίδια με αυτή του συμβολαίου;",
                      "en": "Is this date the same as the contract date?"
                    },
                    "value": [
                      {
                        "element": "textElement",
                        "params": {
                          "text": {
                            "en": "Ναι, είναι η ίδια με αυτή του συμβολαίου",
                            "el": "Ναι, είναι η ίδια με αυτή του συμβολαίου",
                            "tr": "Ναι, είναι η ίδια με αυτή του συμβολαίου"
                          },
                          "type": "span"
                        }
                      }
                    ]
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "print_friendly_data": [                  // Print friendly data. Object, will be stringified
    {
      "pageUrl": "index",                     // Page URL
      "pageTitle": {                          // Page title
        "el": "Στοιχεία του  εκπαιδευτικού",
        "en": "Educator's details",
        "tr": ""
      },
      "fields": [                             // Fields
        {
          "id": "id_select",                    // Field ID
          "label": {                            // Field label
            "el": "Ταυτοποίηση",
            "en": "Identification"
          },
          "value": ["id", "arc"],          // Field value. Could be string or array
          "valueLabel": [                       // Field value label. Could be string or array
            {
              "el": "Ταυτότητα",
              "en": "ID",
              "tr": ""
            },
            {
              "el": "ARC",
              "en": "ARC",
              "tr": ""
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "id_number",
          "label": {
            "el": "Εισαγάγετε αριθμό ταυτότητας",
            "en": "Enter ID number"
          },
          "value": "654654",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "654654",
            "en": "654654"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "aka",
          "label": {
            "el": "Αριθμός κοινωνικών ασφαλίσεων",
            "en": "Social Insurance Number"
          },
          "value": "232323",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "232323",
            "en": "232323"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "pageUrl": "appointment",
      "pageTitle": {
        "el": "Διορισμός εκπαιδευτικού",
        "en": "Teachers appointment",
        "tr": ""
      },
      "fields": [
        {
          "id": "diorismos",
          "label": {
            "el": "Τι διορισμό έχει ο εκπαιδευτικός;",
            "en": "What type of appointment does the teacher have?"
          },
          "value": "monimos",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "Μόνιμος επί δοκιμασία",
            "en": "Permanent on probation",
            "tr": ""
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "fileno_monimos",
          "label": {
            "el": "Αριθμός φακέλου (ΠΜΠ)",
            "en": "File Number"
          },
          "value": "3233",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "3233",
            "en": "3233"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "eidikotita_monimos",
          "label": {
            "el": "Ειδικότητα",
            "en": "Specialty"
          },
          "value": "1",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "Δάσκαλος",
            "en": "Elementary teacher",
            "tr": ""
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "pageUrl": "takeover",
      "pageTitle": {
        "el": "Ημερομηνία ανάληψης",
        "en": "Takeover date",
        "tr": ""
      },
      "fields": [
        {
          "id": "date_start",
          "label": {
            "el": "Ημερομηνία ανάληψης",
            "en": "Start Date"
          },
          "value": "2020-12-11",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "11/12/2020",
            "en": "11/12/2020"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "date_on_contract",
          "label": {
            "el": "Η ημερομηνία αυτή είναι η ίδια με αυτή του συμβολαίου;",
            "en": "Is this date the same as the contract date?"
          },
          "value": "date_other",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "Όχι, αυτή είναι διαφορετική",
            "en": "No, this is different",
            "tr": ""
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "date_contract",
          "label": {
            "el": "Ημερομηνία συμβολαίου",
            "en": "Contract Date"
          },
          "value": "16/04/2025",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "16/04/2025",
            "en": "16/04/2025"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "reason",
          "label": {
            "el": "Αιτιολόγηση καθυστέρησης στην ανάληψη καθηκόντων",
            "en": "Reason for delay in assuming duties"
          },
          "value": "24324dssf",
          "valueLabel": {
            "el": "24324dssf",
            "en": "24324dssf"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "renderer_version": "1.14.1",              // Renderer version
  "design_systems_version": "3.1.0",          // Design systems version
  "service": {                                // Service metadata. Object, will be stringified
    "id": "takeover",
    "title": {
      "el": "Βεβαίωση ανάληψης καθηκόντων εκπαιδευτικών",
      "en": "Certificate of teachers takeover"
    }
  }
}

✅ Input Validations

The project includes input validation for the following elements:

• textInput
• textArea
• select
• radios
• checkboxes
• datePicker
• dateInput

The validation rules for each element are defined in the "validations array for each element. The project support the following validations:

• valid: Checks the value against the specified rule's checkValue. Available rules:
  • numeric: Numeri input
  • numDecimal: Numeric decimal input
  • currency: Currency input (numeric with 2 decimal places)
  • alpha: Alphabetic input
  • alphaNum: Alphanumeric input
  • name: Name input
  • tel: Telephone input
  • mobile: Mobile input
  • telCY: Cyprus telephone input
  • mobileCY: Cyprus mobile input
  • iban: IBAN input
  • email: Email input
  • date: Date input (DD/MM/YYYY)
  • dateISO: ISO date input YYYY-M-D
  • dateDMY: European/Common Format date input D/M/YYYY
• required: Checks if the value is not null, undefined, or an empty string (after trimming).
• length: Checks if the value has a maximum length passed in the checkValue parameter.
• regCheck: Checks if the value matches the specified regular expression passed in the checkValue parameter.
• minValue: Checks if the value is greater than or equal to the specified minimum value passed in the checkValue parameter.
• maxValue: Checks if the value is less than or equal to the specified maximum value passed in the checkValue parameter.
• minValueDate: Checks if the value is greater than or equal to the specified minimum date passed in the checkValue parameter.
• maxValueDate: Checks if the value is less than or equal to the specified maximum date passed in the checkValue parameter.
• minLength: Checks if the value has a minimum length passed in the checkValue parameter.

Example:

"validations": [
    {
        "check": "required",
        "params": {
        "message": {
            "en": "Enter your IBAN",
            "el": "Εισαγάγετε το IBAN σας"
        }
        }
    },
    {
        "check": "valid",
        "params": {
        "checkValue": "iban",
        "message": {
            "en": "IBAN must be a valιd iban, for example",
            "el": "To ΙΒΑΝ πρέπει να είναι έχει μορφή iban"
        }
        }
    }
]

🛣️ Routes

The project uses express.js to serve the following routes:

Service routes:

• /:siteId: Requires cyLogin authentication for authorized individual users. Redirects to /:siteId/index.
• /:siteId/:pageUrl: Requires cyLogin authentication for authorized individual users. Based on /data/:siteId.json, Renders the specified page template. Validates page and saves data to session. If validation fails, errors are displayed with links to the inputs.
• /:siteId/review: Requires cyLogin authentication for authorized individual users. Renders the check your answers page template. Validates all pages in the service and submits the data to the configured API endpoint. If validation fails, errors are displayed with links to the relevant pages.
• /:siteId/success: Requires cyLogin authentication for authorized individual users. Renders latest successful submission.
• /:siteId/success/pdf: Requires cyLogin authentication for authorized individual users. Downloads the PDF of the latest successful submission.

Authentication routes:

• /signin-oidc: CY Login authentication endpoint.
• /login: Redirect to CY Login login page.
• /logout: CY Login logout endpoint.

Absolutely! Here’s a ready-to-paste Troubleshooting / FAQ section you can add near the end of your README, just before Credits or Developer notes.

🔒 Security note

• Always set a strong, random SESSION_SECRET in your .env file. Never commit secrets or credentials to version control.
• In production, ensure cookies are set with secure, httpOnly, and sameSite attributes to protect against common web vulnerabilities.
• Make sure your server is running behind HTTPS in production.
• Regularly rotate secrets and credentials, and restrict access to your .env and configuration files.
• Validate user input to prevent injection attacks.
• Review and update your dependencies regularly to address security vulnerabilities.

Tip: This project enables CSRF protection and secure session cookies by default, but it is your responsibility to keep secrets and environment variables safe in production.

❓ Troubleshooting / FAQ

SSL certificate errors on local development

• Problem: Browser shows a warning or refuses to connect to https://localhost:44319.
• Solution: Make sure you have generated self-signed certificates as described in the installation guide. You may need to trust the certificate in your browser or OS.

Session not persisting / users logged out unexpectedly

• Problem: Users are logged out or session data is lost between requests.
• Solution: Ensure your SESSION_SECRET is set in .env and is long and random. If running behind a proxy (like nginx), set trust proxy in your Express app.

CY Login authentication not working

• Problem: Users cannot log in or are redirected incorrectly.
• Solution: Double-check your CY Login client ID, secret, scope and redirect URIs in .env. Make sure your app is accessible at the correct URL and port.

API requests fail with 401/403 errors

• Problem: Eligibility or submission API calls fail with authorization errors.
• Solution: Ensure the user's access token is being sent in the Authorization header. Check that your API endpoint and credentials are correct. Check that the CY Login you have configured has the correct scope that the API endpoint requires.

Changes to JSON config not reflected

• Problem: Updates to your /data/:siteId.json file don’t show up in the app.
• Solution: Restart the server after making changes to config files, as they are loaded at startup. If the problem persists, check your JSON file syntax and ensure it is valid. Also check if the definition of the elements is as defined in the govcy-frontend-renderer library.

Environment variables not loading

• Problem: The app fails to start or cannot find required configuration values.
• Solution: Make sure your .env file exists in the project root and is formatted correctly. Restart the server after making changes to .env.

Port already in use

• Problem: The server fails to start with an error like EADDRINUSE: address already in use.
• Solution: Another process is using the same port. Either stop the other process or change the PORT value in your .env file.

Cannot connect to CY Login or API endpoints

• Problem: The app cannot reach CY Login or your API endpoints.
• Solution: Check your network connection, firewall settings, and that the URLs in your .env are correct and accessible from your environment.

🙏 Credits

• Cyprus Government Digital Services Factory (DSF) dsf-admin@dits.dmrid.gov.cy
• Cyprus Connecting Digital Services Team cds-support@dits.dmrid.gov.cy

💡 Developer notes

For local develoment checke the developer notes document.

📄 License

This project is released under the MIT License.

📬Contact

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to us at dsf-admin@dits.dmrid.gov.cy